A cargo ship that roamed the Mediterranean Sea for nearly six weeks with 680 tonnes of TNT on board was impounded in a Greek port today.
The seven crew members of the Comoros-flagged
Baltic Sky
are being investigated for any links to terrorism or criminal gangs, said Greek merchant marine minister Mr Giorgos Anomeritis.
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"Someone could think that it would have some connection with terrorist groups," he said at the port of Piraeus, near Athens. "That is why we stopped it when it entered Greek territorial waters".
He said Greek authorities had tracked the vessel since May 12th when it picked up the more than 450 pallets of TNT and 8,000 detonators and fuses in Gabes, Tunisia.
It was intercepted by coast guard special forces yesterday after it entered Greek waters in the southern Ionian Sea.
The ship's manifest said the TNT was bound for a company in Sudan, but Greek officials claim it was only a post office box address. No other details of the firm were given.
The crew of five Ukrainians and two Azerbaijanis were detained and could face charges of illegally transporting explosives and entering Greek waters without declaring a hazardous cargo, officials said.
The vessel was spotted near Istanbul, Turkey, on May 22nd and crossed into the Aegean Sea on June 2nd, Mr Anomeritis said.
The Greek coast guard, acting on tip from security officials in Greece and abroad, forced the Baltic Skyto dock yesterday in the tiny port of Platiyali, 145 miles north-west of Athens.
The site was picked because it is far from large towns, Mr Anomeritis said.
AP